Man Allegedly Drowned His Autistic Adopted Son In Bathtub

A man in DeKalb County, Georgia is accused of drowning his newly adopted son, Kentae Williams, in a bathtub on Friday night.

According to an NBC affiliate in Atlanta, the child was ten years old and reportedly autistic. Leon Williams Sr., 43, is charged with murder and cruelty to children in the first degree in the death of Kentae.

Police said that Leon called 911 claiming he found his son in the bathtub. Leon claimed he drained the water from the tub and began performing CPR, according to the report. The child was transported to hospital for children where he died. Investigators determined that there was something suspicious about the death.

"They did notice there were bruises and injuries that were not consistent with a drowning," said DeKalb County Public Information Officer Shiera Campbell.

According to the report, a witness saw the suspect earlier that day during a BBQ. She said she saw the child and his father in the parking lot. Leon was allegedly grabbing the child's neck. She claimed that Leon told her that Kentae cut school that day. She then said she overheard the Leon tell his adopted son, "You're going to die tonight.”

The child's grandmother told authorities that Leon told Kentae to take a bath, something Kentae didn’t want to do. He made a "fuss" about it. Not long after, Leon called her to come upstairs to call 9-1-1. The grandmother said that the water seemed hot and she saw burn marks on the bottom of the Kentae’s feet. She suggested it was possible that the child may have had a seizure in the bathtub.